Week Ahead Preview
Final week for UPSL Spring; USL League Two is running hot
A reminder of mid-week results, adding two that I didn't have in my recap
Legion WFC 0-2 Asheville City SC
Birmingham Legion 2 0-7 Asheville City SC
Montgomery United 1-2 Tennessee SC
Columbus United 4-0 East Atlanta
Atlanta United 2 0-1 Huntsville City FC
WPSL - Pensacola FC 2-0 Union 10
FC Columbus Elite 1-3 Filial Pachuca (a make-up game)
AFC Mobile 3-5 Gulf Coast United
Birmingham Legion FC
Image credit: Connor Cunningham
Birmingham will be on the road to face Louisville City FC on Saturday June 14 at 7:00. Lousville is coming off of a big 2-1 win mid-week over Rhode Island, who beat Lousville in all three meetings last season. There's the tiniest chance that LC will have a letdown after that emotional result. Birmingham will certainly be expected to bring some intensity to the match, off of ten days of rest after a disappointing loss to Indy Eleven. These two clubs met early this season and played to a 1-1 draw. Incredibly, Lousville City sits atop the table still undefeated after twelve matches played, without much fanfare. Legion will need to dig deep here to come away with some points.
Birmingham will have a short turnaround before their next match at home against Sacramento Republic on Wed June 18 at 7:00. The obvious added drama here will be Coach Briggs facing his previous team for the first time since they let him go. Sacramento has had a disappointing season so far, sitting in eigth place in the West with only three wins (one spot above Las Vegas, who just fired their coach). There's simply no way that this won't be an intense, chippy match
Huntsville City FC
HCFC will be at home against Crown Legacy Fri June 20 at 7:00. Their previous meeting this season saw regular time end in a 1-1 draw, with Huntsville taking the extra point from the shootout. HCFC is coming into the match after a much-needed win over Atlanta United 2, and are holding on to third place in the table. Crown has had a very uneven season, and have been prone to games where they just give up too many goals. The boys in blue should get three points at home.
USL2
Feature match
Image credit: Dothan United
Legion 2 is licking their wounds after a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Asheville City. They won't have much time to think about it because they'll be on the road for another huge game against Dothan United Saturday June 14 at 7:30. The Dragons are calling for a whiteout from the fans, and will be highly motivated. Legion was a thorn in Dothan's side last season, getting a win (their only one last year) and a draw - two results that arguably spoiled Dothan's shot at the playoffs. I expect the action to be very intense, and I lean towards the Dragons getting three points here.
Other matches this week:
Sat June 14 Columbus United vs Asheville City SC 7:30
Tue June 17 Legion 2 vs SSA 7:00
Wed June 18 Montgomery United vs Columbus United 7:00
Wed June 18 Dothan United vs Tennessee SC 7:00
The League for Clubs
Last week's feature match was the first 251 Derby for the year. Union 10 handled AFC Mobile comfortably, winning 4-1. This week's feature will be the other leg of the 251 Derby, this time at Union 10, Wed June 18 at 5:15. Union 10 is looking to move up the table and jump over Pensacola Academy into playoff position. They will be expected to take three points from this one.
Other matches this week:
Sat June 14 Gaffa vs AFC Mobile 7:15
Sat June 14 Union 10 vs Gulf Coast United 5:00
UPSL
Last week's feature saw FC Birmingham lose 0-5 on the road against Dalton United, dashing any hopes that FCB could avoid being relegated for the Fall season. This week's feature match will have Fountain City at home to face that same Dalton United team, Saturday June 14 at 3:00. Fountain needs points here to try to keep themselves from being relegated as well.
This week's matches:
Sat June 14 FC Columbus Elite vs Potros FC 7:00
Sat June 14 FC Birmingham vs UMA FC 6:00
Women's matches
Feature match:
This week's feature match will have Legion WFC at home against SSA on Tue June 17 at 3:30. This will be the first match of a double-header with the men's teams for both clubs. All of Legion's matches have been close, but they've ended up on the losing end of too many. They're just one point behind SSA, who have had very uneven performances throughout the season. Legion will be looking for the win, trying to get up a tight table.
This week's matches:
WPSL - Sat June 14 FC Birmingham vs Tennessee Tempo 3:00
WPSL - Sun June 15 Nashville Rhythm vs FC Birmingham 4:00
USLW - Tue June 17 Legion WFC vs SSA 3:30
WPSL - Wed June 18 Union 10 vs Gulf Coast United 5:00
USLW - Greenville Liberty vs Legion WFC 7:00